Curiosity
by Mr-Dippingsauce
Summary: Dipper was pretty sure Gravity Falls wasn't just a dream he had during a coma. But that's what everyone in the town of Curiosity tells him. Everyone, that is, except for whoever keeps leaving him cryptic notes under his pillow. Can Dipper unravel this strange mystery? Rated T for some cursing and mentions of alcohol and smoking. Fav, follow, and review!
1. Awoken

_**Hello, again. This is my third fanfiction story! It was partially inspired by Welcome to Night Vale, and has no relation to Cipher or 1. Enjoy!-Mr-Dippingsauce**_

Chapter One

Dipper wandered warily through the misty landscape. He could hear voices that seemed to come from several directions at once, and noises that seemed to resonate throughout the fog. He heard a large snapping noise, and jumped back. He looked down and saw he had stepped on a twig. He became more on edge.

"Mabel?" he called out. "Grunkle Stan? Soos?" No one answered his calls.

Dipper's head turned as he heard a faint sound. He listened. _What is that_? He listened harder. He realized what it was: someone was letting out a high pitched laugh.

_No, no, no, no, no! _He thought he ran away from the laughter. But no matter what he did, it seemed to follow him, and it got louder. Dipper froze in fear. The laughing sounded like it was right next to him.

"Hello, _Pine Tree_."

Two arms reached out of the mist and…

Dipper rolled over and hit his head on a metal bar. He groaned. "Mabel?" he said. He sat up. "Mabel?"

Dipper's bed was _not _his bed. He lay on a white bed with white sheets and metal guards. The room was lit with birth white lights. He looked down the room, and saw people in similar beds.

"Am I in a hospital?"

A nurse ran over to him. "Oh good, you're up. How's your head? Do you have a headache, a fever…?"

"W-where am I?" Dipper stuttered.

"In the hospital. You had an accident while rock climbing and you hit your head pretty hard."

_Rock climbing? _Dipper thought. He had always hated rock climbing.

"Your dad will be here in a moment."

"My dad?"

A short, pot-bellied man, walked in, with a goatee and buzz-cut brown hair. He wore a tan windbreaker jacket and a plaid, collared shirt. In his hand he held a cowboy hat.

Dipper was pretty sure that this was _not_ his dad.

"Hey, Sammy!" the man said. "How's your head feelin'?"

"Um, my name is Dipper, not _Sammy_."

The man laughed. "Must've had a bit of memory loss. Come on, Sam, you look like you don't know me?"

Dipper was still processing that apparently this guy was his _dad_.

"Your head feel okay."

Dipper nodded slowly.

"You think it's okay for me to take him home?" he asked the nurse.

"Well, all of his levels are stable and he says his head feels fine, so I think that it's a great idea."

` "Great," he said.

The strange man helped Dipper out of bed. His head was still racing. "Where's Mabel?" he asked. "Where's Stan?"

"Now, whatever are you talking about, boy?"

"Where's my twin sister, Mabel? And my great-uncle Stan?"

"Great uncle? I was an only child! Just like you."

Dipper may have supposedly been in a coma, but he was pretty sure that this wasn't his house. Apparently, his "dad" lived in a small cabin of the outskirts of town, which he was told was called Curiosity.

"Where in the U.S., is it?"

"Now, why would you want to know that?"

The cabin was a small, sturdy structure, consisting of several wood planks. The door was black.

The house was furnished with the kind of furniture you might find in a lodge; chairs that looked like they were just sticks that were cut off a tree, and other such forest themed things. The kitchen was furnished with a gas stove and a fridge that was probably 20 years old. Inside the fridge was a nearly empty gallon of milk, an old pizza, and some moldy cheese.

"Look son," the man, whom Dipper had figured out, was named Steve, said to him. "You, stay out of my room, you hear me?"

"Okay," Dipper said.

Steve showed Dipper his room. It was scarcely furnished, with just a small, old, desk, and a twin-sized bed with brown sheets and a white throw.

"Here it is!" he said. He stepped back. "I'm going to give some time to adjust back." He left the room and closed the door.

Dipper sat down on his bed and sighed. Was this really his life? Was what he thought his life was really just a dream he had during a coma? Was that really possible? He paced around. He remembered something. _The book_! He felt around in his jacket that he gotten back for the third journal. He came up empty handed.

The journal wouldn't be the only thing they took. He had asked several times for his pine tree hat, but everyone told him that he never _wore _a hat. That, of course, had just made Dipper more confused.

_Maybe it really was all just a dream, _he thought. _Maybe Gravity Falls was all just a…what the?!_

He had laid his head on his pillow, and could feel something _under _it. He threw his pillow off of his bed. Underneath him was a piece of paper folded neatly into a hexagon. Dipper unfolded and read the words written in black ink. He read three times before he finally took in what he was reading.

_Hello, Dipper. You are probably very confused right now. You probably think your life is completely different than the one they tell you is yours. They will try and make you believe this. They will try to make you believe that you are Sam. Do not listen to them. They only tell lies. You must flee before they pull you under. As soon as you get this note, burn it. You are being watched._

_-G._

_P.S. Remember, trust no one!_

_**Thank you for reading the first chapter of Curiosity! I hope to have more chapters up as soon as possible!-Mr-Dippingsauce**_


	2. Strange Songs

**_Hello, loyal readers! Sorry I haven't been updating. Between homework and three other fanfictions, I haven't had much time. Anyways, Chapter 2 is here! –Mr-Dippingsauce_**

Chapter Two

"Who sent him that note?!"

The tall man was fuming. His weasly secretary shivered. "We aren't sure, sir. Before he came in, he shut down the cameras." He seemed to shrink. "Please don't hit me."

"I want whoever did this apprehended and eliminated immediately!" The two stood in silence for a few seconds. "What are you doing? I said immediately!"

"Yes sir!" the secretary said. He scurried out of the room.

XXXXXXXXXXX

"That'll be $6.18 for your bread, sir."

Steve handed the cashier the money, pulled his cigarette out of his mouth, and blew out a big puff of smoke.

Dipper coughed. Hoe could anyone kill themselves with smoking. It was completely disgusting.

Steve took the bag of bread and pulled his son along out of the store. As they walked towards Steve's old pickup truck, Dipper felt the stares of several kids upon him. It didn't bug him. People had stared at him for as long as he could remember. Though he wasn't sure whether or not that was a dream, so...

He and his dad passed a group of children playing "ring around the Rosies". Dipper vaguely listened to the lyrics, until he realized something. Those definitely were _not_ the lyrics to the classic children's game. He listened.

_Ring around the rosies_

_A pocketful full of posies_

_Jihadists, jihadists_

_They must fall down_

_Ring around the rosies_

_A pocket full of posies_

_Spies, spies_

_They must fall down_

_Ring around the rosies_

_A pocket full of posies_

_People that_

_Know too much_

_They must fall down_

Dipper was thunderstruck. He turned to ask Steve about it. "_What _are they singing?"

Steve chuckled. "Oh, come on. It's a classic children's song. Ring around the Rosies, you know?"

"I'm pretty sure it never mentions jihadists or spies, though."

Steve just laughed a big booming laugh that to Dipper seemed a little forced. "You just don't remember it. Now, come on and get in the car."

Dipper's foot hit something. He looked down, and picked up an empty can of beer. He gave an internal groan. He tossed the can onto the street and slammed the door shut.

"If you're hungry you can have some bread," Steve told him. "But don't disturb me, you got that boy?"

Dipper nodded.

Steve walked into his room, glanced once more at Dipper, and slowly closed the door.

Dipper was feeling a little hungry, so he pulled out a piece of the French loaf, and bit into it. He stopped mid-bite when he started to taste something that was definitely not bread. He took it out of his mouth and ripped it in half. Baked in the middle was a rolled up piece of paper.

"What?!' Dipper said. "How did he get a note into my _bread?!"_

He unrolled the paper and read it.

_Dipper,_

_ Your probably getting me more confuse by the minute. They do this to you and to everyone else like you. I was one of them. They tried to make me like they will try to make you. I pretended to go along with their plans. They think I am theirs, but I am not. They will try to make you theirs. Try to make you forget all that you remember. That is why they captured me as well. I knew too much. Now they want to destroy your knowledge of all that you know. They are scared of people like you. Don't let them pull you under._

_I wish I could tell you who I am. It's not that I don't trust you. I trust you almost as much as I've trusted anyone. But I need to keep my identity a secret from them._

_Look for messages when you least expect them._

_-G._

Dipper read the note and then sat down on the couch. He read it gain. _Who are they? Why do they want me? _He got a headache from just thinking about it.

This town was definitely hiding something. But what? Something paranormal?

He needed to find G.

XXXXXXXXXXX

"Why can't you do one effing thing right?!" The man on the monitor screamed.

Steve was flustered. "I don't know how _anyone _could sneak in here. I set up the cameras and…"

"He broke the cameras, you son of a…!" he calmed himself down. "Look the point is, you must find whoever is doing this. We can't afford for the boy to escape."

"Yes sir."

"Good. Oh, and let me remind you of what will happen if you fail."

With one hand, the man took an apple in one hand and squished it. "Get the picture?"

Steve gulped. "Yes sir."

"Good." The screen went black.

**_Thank you for reading Chapter Two. Expect at least 1 chapter per week for the story's duration.-Mr-Dippingsauce_**


	3. A Familiar Face

**_A/N: Hello, readers. I must apologize for the delay. I thought I would have lots of time to write over fall break. I promised two chapters this week, and I failed on that So, I promise double chapters next week. I'm serious this time…hopefully. Anyways, after a few days delay, here is chapter 3!–Mr-Dippingsauce_**

Chapter Three

Dipper could feel water droplets break against his skin as he walked through the foggy landscape. He shivered in the oversize sweatshirt Steve had given him. He'd had to go talk about something and apparently fog was _great_ weather for meeting outside. Dipper desperately tried to warm himself. After a few minutes, he gave up, and sat down on the cold, metal bench. He shifted his body several times, but nothing felt comfortable. He got up and began to pace around.

He glanced up and saw a girl sitting on a bench across the bark. She looked maybe his age, same color hair, and she appeared to be…knitting.

He watched her for a moment. He seemed…attracted to her. Not in a crush kind of way, but more of a family type of thing. He had no idea why.

He already felt a bond with this girl, almost as if it were telepathic. He thought, _who kid this be?_ After a few minutes

Crazy as it was, it seemed to fit. The way he remembered her fit his idea of Mabel. He had to know the truth.

He began to walk towards her.

Steve and the woman he was meeting were talking.

"No, she hasn't gotten any notes. Weird. Maybe they don't know she's here?"

Steve shrugged and looked over at Dipper. He saw him approaching the girl.

"Oh crap."

Dipper felt an arm tug at him and pull him away from his stride. "Come on son, it's time to go!"

"But wait…!"

"No buts, son, now let's go."

"But…"

Dipper found himself thrown onto the hard asphalt of the parking lot.

Steve's eyes emitted a stare that would have made even the bravest man whimper in fear. He grabbed Dipper's arm and twisted it. Dipper cringed in pain.

"I said no buts." He said darkly. "Now get in the car, and if you say one word, I'll tear your arm out of its socket."

Dipper wrenched his arm from Steve's grip and scurried into the truck.

Dipper sat in his room. The door was locked from the outside. Steve had a pretty big temper. He sighed and rolled over onto his side. After Steve's reaction, he was positive that the girl he had seen was Mabel. That had been the final straw.

He knew that they were lying to him.

"That was a close call." The man on the monitor said. "And totally irresponsible. For this, you must be punished."

Steve felt a sharp electrical shock in his temple. _Stupid chip,_ he thought. He rubbed his temples.

"If he catches even a slight glimpse at the girl, you're gonna fell a lot more pain than you are right now. Got it?"

"Yes sir."

"Good."

The monitor went black.

****_Dipper,_

_ That girl was Mabel. It is imperative you find her, which you talk to her. You must find her if you want to escape._

_ -G._

_P.S. Be careful. Soon, they will truly begin conforming you to their ways. Just remember; beware the chip._

The man outside the window rubbed his chin. He nodded as he read over his words. _Sounds good._ He got onto the window ledge.

Dipper was still in his bedroom.

He dived off the ledge and landed in the bushes outside. _Crap._ He hadn't expected the boy to be back so soon. He thought Steve was going to lecture him about talking to strangers or whatever, and they would be a while.

It wasn't that he didn't want Dipper to know who he was, it was just too dangerous. Too dangerous not just for him, but also for Dipper. If Dipper knew, they would take him in and grill him, until he broke down and told them everything. Then, they would take control of him in this weak mindset and he would be what they called "conformed".

He looked around. He had to find another way in. He climbed out of the bushes and crouched near the wall of the house. He snuck around the wall, and he ran into Steve.

"What do you think you're doing?" he asked.

"Oh, Steve! Hey, buddy! I'm just doing a routine inspection. Pssht, you know how it is."

Steve looked at him for a moment, and nodded. "Yeah, I know. Say, you wouldn't happen to have seen anyone suspicious around, huh?"

"Could you be more specific?"

Steve just shrugged. "I don't have any. All we know is at least one of his initials is G."

The man hesitated. "Nope, sorry. If I do, I'll make sure to tell you."  
Steve nodded. "Thank you. Now, if you excuse me, I gotta go teach my son a lesson."

Steve walked back into the house and slammed the door shut.

_That was close, _he thought. _I better wait to give Dipper the note. _

He dashed up to an old sports car and drove away.

The girl sat on the bed, thinking. She could just remember that guy walking up to her. She knew it was her brother.

She knew the notes were right.

G had said that they were watching her brother but not her. He said that they thought he was more important than she was. That she was just their so she wouldn't help him escape.

She would show them. Mabel Pines could do a lot more than sit around.

**_Well, there's chapter 3. I promise that there will be double chapters next week!-Mr-Dippingsauce._**


	4. Rage

**_Hello, readers! You have all made this my most popular story yet, and I thank you for that! This is the first of the promised two chapters this week! Warning: This chapter is rated T. It contains mentions of alcohol, some curses, and raw emotion. If you feel uncomfortable about reading this, I apologize. I promise this one will be good, though.-Mr-Dippingsauce_**

Chapter Four

Dipper's eyes flashed open as he heard the distinct sounds of breaking glass and yells that were muted thought the piece of painted white wood that was his door. He diligently picked the covers of of his body and slipped out his bed. He cracked open the door, so he could see what the noise was.

Steve was sobbing sadly at the kitchen table, seven empty beer bottles on the kitchen table. "Why can't I get a life?! I should just go to hell!" He picked up an empty bottle and smashed it on the table. One shard made a cut on his left hand, and blood slowly trickled out. Steve acted like nothing had happened.

"You're a piece of shit, you know that?!" He yelled to himself. "Never done a good thing in your life have you? All you been doing is watching over kids those mother-" He sobbed a little. "The kids that those bastards kidnap."

Dipper had just been about to return to bed, but as he heard Steve say those words, he became significantly more interested in the man's drunken laments. He stood still, listening.

"You're just as bad as them you know. Going with 'napping them kids." He took a swig from the bottle in his right, then yelled, and smashed the half-full bottle onto the table Beer splashed everywhere and glass shards flew through the air. One cut Steve on the cheek. "_Son of a bitch_!" He yelled. Screaming obscenities, Steve stomped out of the kitchen towards his room.

Dipper shut the door nervously. Steve clearly got angry when he was drunk. If he got drunk at a time when he thought Dipper was awake, who knows what he would do.

Dipper climbed into bed and pulled the covers over himself. He considered one last thought about Steve and his drunken behavior. This caused him to shiver as he imagined an image of himself with a cut on his throat, blood pouring out, with a glass shard next to him. He began to cry silently.

_Help me get out of here_ eh thought to whoever might be listening to his thoughts.

XXXXXXXX

About three miles away, one person did hear his thought. Not hear it as Dipper thought it, per say, but he felt what the boy must be feeling. It was how he felt every day.

_I wish I could help him more._

He knew that he was a suspect as to who was sending the notes, so he decided to lay low a few days before sending another one. He sat in a yellow recliner and sighed. It was bad enough they kidnapped the boy, but on top of all of that, they had entrusted him to _Steve,_ the most emotionally unstable person he could think of. Well, that might not be true. Steve was only unstable when he was drunk, whereas he knew someone who had become crazy 24/7 after being a perfectly stable, intelligent human being. He sighed.

He rubbed the bridge of his nose in stress. _I hope he's all right._ He thought.

XXXXXXXX

"And this is why I asked you not to assign him to Steve!"

The 21-year old who called himself Jeremy shivered at the imposing figure of the dark-suited man. "Well, sir, he hadn't had an incident for several months, and he was asking for a second chance, so I decided to go ahead and give him a chance." He finished his sentence with a gulp as the man just gave him a more intense stare.

You deliberately disobeyed my orders. For that, you will stay in solitary confinement for three nights.

Jeremy let out a yelp that he cut short. "Sir, do you think that that's really necessary?"

"Enough!" He nodded to two guards in all black. "Take him to Cell 13, section SC."

Jeremy screamed as the two guards dragged him out of the room. The heavy metal door closed with a large thud. The dark-suited man straightened his nametag on his desk. In shiny gold letters it read _Alexander Pitt. _He smiled to himself, and sat down. He clicked on a document on his computer, which opened up the profile for Dipper Pines.

_We must be more careful. He must never know._

XXXXXXXX

Dipper waked down the lane about twenty steps behind Steve, who was having a whispered conversation on his phone. He sighed as he shouldered the windbreaker onto his shoulders and sighed. The wind whipped through his hair and he didn't like it. He much preferred a hat on his head than to be bare.

Steve sat down on an iron bench and managed to convey for Dipper not to wander far off. Dipper nodded, and then crossed the street. The green grass of the park blew in the wind, and the iron chains of the playground creaked thought the gale. Dipper eased his way onto a swing.

He felt someone sit down on the swing next to him. His head snapped to the left.

A boy probably 4 or 5 years older than himself nodded at him. "Hey, ain't you the boy, Sam or whateva'." He had a country accent, and did not pronounce his r's.

:"My name is dipper."

"Funky name, don't you think?"

Dipper shrugged. "I don't know. It's just what they call me."

"Huh. You know your dad was drunk last night."

"He's _not _my dad. And yeah, he was cursing all last night"

"Oh, come on, he's gotta be yo' old man. Ya just gotta give yourself time to remember."

Dipper shook his head. "Yeah, maybe." He glanced around, then back at the boy. "I'm sorry, what was your name again?"

The boy smiled and held out his hand. "The name's Garret."

XXXXXXXX

Dipper didn't know, but from across the street someone was watching him. Through a crack in the blinds of a barbershop, two brown eyes peeked out, staring at dipper and Garret.

Mabel was still trying to figure out this town, so she had no idea whether this guy was trustworthy or not. He seemed nice enough, but there was a nagging suspicion in the back her mind that the dark-haired boy was not all that he seemed.

Glancing over at the blonde woman who claimed to be her mother, she saw that he wasn't looking. Facing the window, she pulled the latest note from G. out of her pocket and read the last sentence to herself.

_ Lay low. Your brother and I will work out everything._

Even though it seemed like he was trying to help them, there was no way to know whether or not he could be trusted. _Wow, that's usually something only Dipper thinks. _Something was messing with her mind, but she couldn't quite put her finger on what made her so jumpy. She knew one thing; she had to get out of here.

_I'll get me and my brother out of here. One way, or another._

**_Hey, I know this chapter might've been a bit slow, so I promise that next chapter…things will happen! Anyways, expect the next chapter Sunday or Monday!-Mr-Dippingsauce._**


	5. Things That Go Thud in the Night

**_Sorry for the delays in this chapter. I had a staggering amount of homework. (#BlameCave, for those from the forum). Anyways, there's more action in this chapter than the last one. Enjoy! -Mr-Dippingsauce_**

Chapter Five

Dipper woke up in the dead of the night as he heard a strange sound outside of the window.

Going over to examine, he saw a figure running through the bushes.

He didn't need to ask himself who that person might be.

Grabbing the same oversized sweatshirt and a flashlight from the kitchen, he ran out in pursuit.

As he entered the forest, he could hear someone make their way through the trees .He followed in pursuit. The dense foliage made it difficult to see, but Dipper could just make out a figure of a tall man with a stocky build.

Pushing aside branches, Dipper Jumped over several tree roots, in an effort to keep pace with him.

_G._

He saw the figure slow down, and he began an all-out sprint. His left foot hit a tree root, and he flew a few feet in the air before landing hard on a sharp rock. He screamed out int pain as blood flowed from the cut on his elbow. He clambered to his feet, but found himself being grabbed by two powerful arms. He reached put for the figure, which had sped up once more, but before he knew what was happening a cloth was being placed over his mouth and the world was fading, fading into darkness…

XXXXXXXX

The man in the dark suit held the limp boy in his arms. He nodded to his partner. "after him. He's probably that renegade the Council has been trying to catch."

His partner nodded and flew through the wooded terrain. The man sighed. If it had been up to him, he had have ignored the boy and gone for the criminal, but orders said that he needed to stop the boy from knowing anything before everything else. He sighed, and he heard his partner trudge his way through the forest. "You find him?"

"Negative. Suspect escaped into one of the denser parts of the forest, near the Fence.. I lost trck of him.

The man groaned. "The Council's gonna kill us."

"No. _Alex _is gonna kill us."

_True, _thought the man. _Very true._

XXXXXXXX

Most people thought that the Council made the ultimate decisions on what happened in Curiosity.

That was not actually true. There was in fact only one person who made the decisions.

That person was Alexander.

"In conclusion, Steve is too risky a Guardian to entrust with a Subject as important to the Society as Dipper Pines. He should be transferred to a new Guardian as soon as humanly possible." The member sat down.

Alex spread his hands out. "Have you even stopped and considered how risky that is? The boy is too smart to fall for that. Besides, Steve will do fine. His house is isolated. The boy may start to suspect something, but the conformation process will start soon. Soon, he will be our most valuable asset. Until then, we have to stop those notes from getting to him. Did we get a good visual on the suspect."

"No, sir. The trees were too dense to see through. Would you like to recommend a punishment?"

Alex waved his hand. "No, no it's not their fault. But I want to start locking all doors by nine. Increase security around the perimeter of the boy's house."

"Yes, sir. It shall be done."

XXXXXXXX

Dipper woke up on the couch. He felt sore all over and had a cut on one arm.

He had no idea why.

The last thing he remembered was goin to bed the previous night. He had waited for gours for a potential note. It had yielded o returns, so he had gone to bed.

Unless he had been sleepwalking and somehow gotten seriously injured, he could see no logical explanation for how he felt.

The putrid smell of smoke hit him, and Diper wrinkled his nose. He didn't need to look over his shoulder to know who else was there.

"Hey, sport." Steve said, exhaling smoke as he did.

"Wha-what happened? I feel all sore and…"

"Ah, you just fell out of bed, got a little banged up, nothing too much."

"I think I would've remembered that."

"Well, apparently you didn't."

"But..."

"No buts, boy. Damn it, you fell out of bed, and that's all there is too it!"

Dipper fell silent as Steve's face began to turn red. Dipper thought that steam would start coming out of his ears. He could tell he was lying just by how worked up he was getting over it. Either that or he was just a little bit drunk.

Though, to be fair, there wasn't much difference between a sober and a drunk Steve.

"I'm going to my room, and you stay hear "til you feel better." He bent down and grabbed Dipper's ear. "Got that, _sport_?"

Dipper nodded, and Steve let out a dark laugh. He walked into his room and shut the door.

Dipper shivered under his thin blanket.

XXXXXXXX

_I hate myself._

Steve angrily kicked the side of his bed, and winced as a dull pain shot up his leg.

_You're doing what's best for the kid._ He told himself. _The sooner he learns to fear them, or more specifically him, the better the kid would be._

He looked at the three crumpled pieces of paper on his table. He sighed.

_This guy is insane. He's gonna get himself and the kid killed._

He read over them a couple times, and sighed. _Why the hell can't I be that brave?_

He began to cry, as painful memories resurfaced.

XXXXXXXX

The man strode confidently towards the door, note in his pocket, whistling casually, he turned the knob.

The door stubbornly refused to open.

_What? _He tried again. And again.

_It's locked!_

He trudged back to the living room and slumped onto a mahogany colored couch.

_Crap._

XXXXXXXX

Mabel sat in the corner, her knitting needles clicking together in a rhythmic fashion. She stared intently at the blond haired lady across the room from her. The lady smiled.

Mabel sneered. _Shannon._

She continued clicking her needles together and thought. _How to get out? How to get out?_

She just couldn't see how. The town probably had a border or a fence. Or did it?

She held her head. She was so confused.

XXXXXXXX

Shannon smiled to herself. _Yes, girl. Confuse yourself. You will bend. You and your brother._

**_There's the fifth chapter. Hopefully chapter 6 will be up Sunday!-Mr-Dippingsauce._**


End file.
